Geology

Where to Start

Why Major? || Course Photos || Geoscience Careers || How to Start?

GY Majors fair video with clips from Geology students (video made by Sarah Schanz).

Why Major in Geology?

Opportunities

Noblett-Witter Family Fund allows students to get internships from Florida, Alaska, to right here in Denver.
Research with faculty under a large variety of Earth science subjects.
The department provides the opportunity to go to conferences to present your research.
Classes travel to all parts of the Southwest and beyond to visit geologic sites, museums, and Earth science labs.
CC Geology Alumni form a network that can be useful after graduating - Notable Alumni are highlighted each year in the annual geology Precambrian Basement Newsletter.

Community

The smaller number of students in the department, the once-per-year schedule of major courses, and frequent use of field trips lead to students in the major forming close bonds.
Individuals with historically excluded identities meet every other Block for Geology S.O.U.P. Nights (Social Outings for Underrepresented Persons of Geology).
Geology majors at least 21 years of age are invited to Geology Pub Nights at local spots around town every other Block.
The department hosts two social cookouts a year following the start-of-year Majors' Meeting and end-of-year Geology Department Research Symposium (i.e., Geo Day).
The department sends off graduating seniors and their families with a reception each year.
The department hosts a gathering each year at both the AGU and GSA annual meetings for Geology alumni and active students to meet and network.

Course Photo Gallery

Understanding the San Luis Valley offered by Prof. Henry Fricke <span class="cc-gallery-credit">[Zhilin Shi]</span>

View Slide Show 96 Photographs

Geoscience Careers

Geoscience career paths!

Figure published by American Geoscience Institute (AGI) outlining potential career paths for students who graduate with an Earth science degree. Illustrated by Kathleen Cantner. Content by Heather Houlton and Abigail Seadler.

AIG flowchart showing the number of students from each type of earth science major that get first jobs in various industries

Flowchart published by American Geoscience Institute (AGI) that connects the study field of recent Earth science graduates to the industry of their first job. Created by M. Krzywinski (2009).

Click here to jump to Post Graduation Resources!

How Do I Start the Major?

Major Requirements PDF (v.2022)

Link to CC Registrar Major Requirements page.

Course Flow Chart:

(Link to a larger printable version.)

Recommended Timeline

1st/2nd year
- Take an Intro block (GY140 or GY150)!
- Get started on the Natural Science Breadth courses.
- Maybe take a 200-level geology course.

2nd year
- Take GY211 and/or GY212.
- Start to take 300-level courses.

3rd year
- Continue taking 300-level courses.
- Start planning capstone research.

4th year
- Finish 300-level courses.
- Complete capstone research project (including GY400 or GY405).
- Present at Geo Day.

Click here to jump to the Course Sequence page!

Suggested Specializations

Surface Geology: GY305, GY315, GY320, GY335

Subsurface Geology: GY305, GY310, GY315, GY360

Physical Geology: GY305, GY315, GY320, + one

Geochemistry: GY310, GY335, GY360, + one

Click here to jump to the Courses page!

Report an issue - Last updated: 04/04/2024

Contact Us

Department of Geology
Colorado College
14 E. Cache La Poudre
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-389-6621
FAX: 719-389-6910
geology@coloradocollege.edu

Geology News

CC Awarded with a Research College and University (RCU) Designation

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE) have recognized Colorado College with a Research College and University (RCU) Designation. The RCU designation highlights research contributions from institutions historically not recognized for their research activity. Unlike the traditional R1 and R2 classifications, RCU status acknowledges colleges and universities that invest significantly in research, even if they do not offer many or any doctoral degrees. CC is one of 36 undergraduate liberal arts colleges awarded this designation.

Read the full story here!

Dr. Michelle Gevedon helping undergraduate student researcher, Anders Swanson, core garnet minerals for isotopic analyses

Image: Dr. Michelle Gevedon helping undergraduate student researcher, Anders Swanson '25, core garnet minerals for isotopic analyses.

Geology Students Intern at the American Museum of Natural History!

_{Elizabeth Spradlin ’27, Corra Lewis ’27, and Makena R. Hatch ’26 stand in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda.}

Makena R. Hatch ’26, Elizabeth Spradlin ’27, Corra Lewis ’27, and Mac Schwartz ’27 were participants in the Noblett-Witter Family Internship Program. These four CC students spent their summer in the heart of New York City, interning at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), where they experienced a hands-on, professional geology environment.

Read the full story by Julia Fennell on The Peak.

GeoMAP Antarctica, the initial comprehensive digital database that consolidates all existing geological information of Antarctica

Christine Siddoway and her colleagues developed a ground-breaking geospatial resource for Antarctic Research!

Christine Siddoway has long worked on the bedrock geology of Antarctica, involving CC Geology majors and collaborating with international colleagues. Lately, this work culminated in the publication of Antarctic GeoMAP in Nature Data Science. The groundbreaking geospatial resource is the first interactive, queriable, online GIS for the Antarctic continent. GeoMAP serves geologists, glaciologists, climate scientists, and biologists whose work examines the interrelationships between the ice sheet and the bedrock. More than 20 CC geology majors participated in the decade of work leading up to the GeoMap release. Four CC alums are co-authors, with Sam Elkind ’16 having a leading role. Coauthors Elkind and Lexie Millikin ’17 had Witter Family Fund internships that were important to the success of the international collaboration on the Antarctic dataset.

Full story by Miriam Roth